Sea Level Rise — A "Resilience Hotspot" With Billions at Risk

active• newark

Newark's combination of bayfront industrial sites, residential neighborhoods built on former salt ponds, and proximity to the Don Edwards refuge makes it one of the most climate-vulnerable cities in Alameda County. Newark is facing the impacts of climate change and sea level rise with billions of dollars in assets at risk, making it a resilience hotspot — a designation from the Greenbelt Alliance that reflects documented modeling of what rising Bay waters would do to the city's roads, wastewater infrastructure, and residential neighborhoods. The baylands in Area 4 provide a rare natural buffer between the Bay and developed communities — and according to the San Francisco Estuary Institute and SPUR, restoration of those lands could increase climate resilience for both the ecosystem and adjacent developed communities — a finding that makes the housing-vs-wetlands debate not just an environmental question but a public safety one. The Mowry Village site specifically sits adjacent to the Hayward fault, presenting liquefaction risk in addition to flooding exposure — and with only one road in and out, emergency egress during a major event is a genuine life-safety concern.

Related cause: Environment

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